The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for clarity, style and space available. Opinions expressed are those of the authors, not those of the American Council of the Blind, its staff or elected officials. “The Braille Forum” is not responsible for the opinions expressed herein. We will not print letters unless you sign your name and give us your address.
ICUB & Guide Dogs
Dear Readers,
In response to the article about ICUB and guide dog handlers in their rehabilitation training center:
If all a public service entity need do is show that people who are blind guide dog handlers can have their needs met elsewhere in comparable settings, we will be excluded from restaurants, schools, libraries, parks, grocery stores, etc. Any grocery store or restaurant can then argue that our needs can be equally met elsewhere, sending us on our way! For the Iowa Council of the United Blind to imply that because this woman was offered comparable services in another organization which does not discriminate against blind guide dog users, her rights of equal access under the law were not denied is not true. The rights of those of us who make the choice to have the assistance of service animals will be set back to square one if this case is allowed to set precedence.
I am very disappointed in the ACB’s lack of a backbone! The fact that the entity involved is a blind service organization does not give them the ability to deny blind dog guide handlers their equal access rights under the law.
Respectfully, but Hugely Disappointed,
Shirley Manning, Los Angeles, Calif.
Dear Donna Seliger, John Taylor, and members of ICUB:
I was delighted to read the account of the emergency board meeting in the winter 2003 “Braille Forum.” I am a member of the National Federation of the Blind of Kansas as well as the Braille Revival League.
Reading Charles Hodge’s account of the conference call was very, very refreshing. Here is precisely why. I have been in the ACB less than a year; and I am extremely disturbed at the extreme liberalism dominating the organization. I do not enjoy saying the following; but from what I have observed from the ACB, the council appears to act as though the blind are supposed to be politically and economically on the left, as well as exhibiting a pity-party, poor-me attitude.
The council seems to complain constantly, rarely to praise. I would like to commend Ron Brooks and the rest of the transportation committee for the transportation survey, which is very good and comprehensive; but I note that this choice appears in one of the questions: “I write letters of complaint.” Why? Why? What sort of good image do we portray by constantly complaining? Please understand that this question is rhetorical.
Now to the conference call. Personally, I do believe Stephanie Dohmen should be allowed to be accompanied by her guide dog as a student at the Iowa Department for the Blind; let me emphasize that this is my personal opinion. After all, this is the travel aid which she has chosen, and which she is accustomed to using. Not allowing her dog to accompany her, I believe, is equivalent to saying that only cane travel will be permitted. I hope Stephanie reads this paragraph, and my following paragraphs.
But on the other hand, Allen Harris did make it clear to Stephanie that she could obtain the rehabilitation which she wanted, computer and job training, elsewhere and still remain accompanied by her dog. This is just one of my reasons for not supporting Guide Dog Users, Inc.’s wish that the ACB become a party to their complaint on Stephanie’s behalf.
My second reason is that any careful student of American history will know that the Confederate and Union states fought the Civil War based on whether individual states had the right to control their own affairs, or whether states’ affairs should be controlled by the federal government. Ever since the federal government won the war, the era of big government has increasingly dominated the United States. This is not progress, but regression.
What is my point? My point is that if the board were to allow ACB to become a party in this case, which it did not, then you in the Hawkeye State would be going down the slippery slope of having a national organization make your decisions for you, rather than making them yourselves. If the board had approved ACB’s getting involved, I would support ICUB’s disaffiliation.
My third reason focuses on Allen Harris and the Iowa Department themselves. I am extremely pleased that under Allen’s leadership, the Iowa program is one of the top state programs in the nation. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same about our bureaucratic program here in Kansas. For the past few years, the state has attempted to dissolve the Division of Services for the Blind, to merge all programs for all so-called “disabilities,” as a budget cut. You in Iowa have none of those problems. Stephanie Dohmen should be grateful that she lives in Iowa.
— Jeff Frye, Overland Park, Kansas
Braille Menus
On January 19, 2003, I had dinner with my father and sister at a local Perkins family restaurant. Our dinner was excellent. Service from our waitress was exceptional; she had a great personality and smiled the whole time.
I am writing for another reason. While I was enjoying my dinner, a blind gentleman came into the restaurant along with two companions, one who had to read everything off the menu so that the blind man could decide what he wanted. I was disgusted that Perkins could not provide this gentleman a braille menu. Your restaurant and many others provide endless accommodations for many other customers, such as a table for a person in a wheelchair. Another way a restaurant accommodates people is by putting tables together for a large group of customers. The lack of a braille menu seems so minute compared to other accommodations often provided by your company, but I found it appalling.
One may question how often a restaurant has blind people to serve. That should not be a question in anyone’s mind. On just about every restroom a person enters, there is braille on the sign to differentiate the men’s from the women’s room. Why not provide the customers with a braille menu? The company would only need to make a couple of copies for each restaurant.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Please provide your blind customers with braille menus.
— Carrie Sue Johnson, Clarion, Pa.